Sweet Relish with Cucumbers and Cauliflower

By brendaz

I have had soooo many compliments on this relish! It is a very loose adaptation from Jean Pare's Million Dollar Relish, except I added cauliflower and celery seed and adjusted the quantities of the other ingredients.

Ingredients

• 1 medium-sized head of cauliflower
• 4 lbs cucumbers, with peel
• 4 medium yellow onions
• 1 green pepper, seeded
• 2 sweet red peppers, seeded
• 1/2 cup course pickling salt
• 10 cups boiling water
• 3 cups white vinegar
• 5 cups white sugar
• 2 Tbsp. mustard seed
• 1 Tbsp. turmeric
• 1 Tbsp. celery seed
• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp. cold water

Preparation

Step 1

Roughly chop the cucumbers, cauliflower, onions and peppers into chunks. Pulse them through a food processor until they are a fine dice with a few larger pieces to add some texture.

Place all the veggies into a large bowl and sprinkle the salt over the top. Add the boiling water, cover the bowl and let it sit on the counter for a couple of hours or even overnight is fine.

Drain the mixture well, continuing to press the residual liquid through the strainer until very little remains. Place the mixture into a large pot and add the vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, celery seed and turmeric. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Boil gently for 30 minutes.

Make a slurry of the cornstarch and water and stir it into the boiling relish. Cook for another minute or two until it thickens slightly. Pour into HOT sterilized pint jars and seal. I personally do not do the boiling water bath method, I simply ensure my jars are really hot when I fill them with the hot mixture and I seal them tightly. Within a couple of hours of resting on the counter each pint jar's seal "popped" so I know they are well sealed before storing. (For added assurance against spoilage you may choose to process the jars by placing them in a pot and cover the jars with water. Bring the water to a boil and process for 10 minutes.)

The relish tastes great right away, but the flavors really blend together well as time goes by. We usually open the first jar after a month or so. Enjoy! For more detailed instruction and other recipe ideas, visit my blog Apron Strings and Tasty Things at www.foodandfact.com